Freedom Lectures Reflect on a Successful Series about the War in Israel and Palestine

In February and March 2024, five Freedom Lectures took place in Wageningen, Zwolle, The Hague, Tilburg, and Utrecht, focusing on the war in Israel and Palestine. Program maker Raoul Heertje, journalist Radi Suudi, documentary filmmaker Natascha van Weezel, and criminologist Lydia de Leeuw engaged in open conversations with each other and the audience. Just like the first edition in November 2023, this series was completely sold out.

The Value of Freedom

Between Friday, February 16, and Wednesday, March 6, the lectures traveled across the Netherlands, with two of the four speakers joining each evening. Together they explored questions such as: How can we truly live together in today’s world? How can different communities find one another? And how do we create space to be ourselves while staying in dialogue with each other?

Enriching for Both Speakers and Audience

The evenings also proved deeply valuable for the speakers.

• Natascha van Weezel reflected: “It feels good to have these conversations in such a personal way. Online, discussions often escalate, but here we look each other in the eye. These dialogues spark curiosity about the many sides of a story.”

• Lydia de Leeuw added: “These lectures gave me more context for the history and situation I thought I already knew. I now better understand where emotions come from. It made me wonder: what should we in the Netherlands have done to heal the broken trust after the Second World War?”

• Raoul Heertje concluded: “Over the past editions, I heard many things I agreed with, and many I didn’t. And that’s a good thing—it opens the door to new perspectives.”
  

Collaboration

This series was a collaboration between Stichting Vrijheidscolleges, Bevrijdingsfestival Utrecht, Bibliotheek Utrecht, Bibliotheek Midden-Brabant, de bblthk, Bevrijdingsfestival Overijssel, Oranjehotel Den Haag, FOTODOK, and Stichting Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam. The program was made possible with support from Vfonds.

Photography: Jelmer de Haas